Cyanogen plans to buy startups and expand in India

The US-based company is also evaluating possibilities to invest in or acquire startups to strengthen its product offerings.Danish Khan | ET Bureau | December 22, 2015, 08:13 IST

The OnePlus One will get OTA firmware updates for 'all global devices, including global devices for users in India.' Cyanogen, which has developed an open-source mobile operating system, plans to expand aggressively in India to tap the opportunities offered by the world’s fastest growing smartphone market.

The US-based company is also evaluating possibilities to invest in or acquire startups to strengthen its product offerings.

"We are going to expand in India aggressively, and you can expect to see a lot more of us next year. Our Bengaluru team has 11 people, which will grow up to 60 people by the end of 2016," co-founder and chief executive Kirt McMaster told ET.

It hired Qualcomm’s former vice-president of engineering, Sachin Shirhatti, to head the team to build new products as well as focus on business development in India. "India is the fastest growing mobile market in the planet and we are here to support it. The big focus of the financing is to expand in India," McMaster said.

Cyanogen started as an open-source project, CyanogenMod, to tinker with Google’s Android operating system in 2009 before becoming a full-fledged company in 2013. In India, the company officially entered through an exclusive partnership with Micromax’s online brand Yu, which has so far launched three smartphones running the Cyanogen operating system.

The company is currently working with a number of Indian as well as international vendors to launch smartphones running its platform in India next year.

"You probably see more than six domestic and international vendors launching devices running Cyanogen in India," McMaster said. He didn’t reveal the names of these handset vendors. McMaster said the company will continue to work with Micromax’s Yu brand.

Cyanogen had so far been trying to tap the enthusiasts or the developer community. Now, by tying up with new vendors, it aims to tap the mass market.

"One of the reasons we partnered with Micromax because they understand the market and consumers in India... It’s really important for Cyanogen to go beyond the enthusiasts’ community. We want to take the value of this community to mass market," McMaster said.

On acquisition and investment plans, McMaster said Cyanogen is looking at several companies in India. "We would love to meet entrepreneurs and technology companies that have great technologies local to India."

Asked if there is a separate fund for investments and acquisitions, McMaster said: "We have been considering something like that to fund startups, not just in India but globally. But, currently, there’s no specific Cyanogen fund for this."